1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of this invention relate to arrangements for permitting limited access to the applications in a handheld electronic device for making outgoing phone calls while maintaining protection against unauthorized access to other applications and their stored data.
2. Background Information
As the functionality of handheld electronic devices continues to expand, more and more data of the user enterprise become potentially available virtually anywhere. This has raised serious concerns among security personnel of such enterprises. A common response has been to incorporate a timeout security function into the handheld electronic device that is activated after a selected interval of nonuse, for example two minutes, or upon activation by the user. All operation of the device, including making of outgoing phone calls is blocked; however, incoming phone calls can be received and answered. In order to place a call or perform any other operation (other than receiving incoming phone calls), the lockout must be deactivated. A security code or password must be entered to deactivate the lockout for further operation of the device. This security feature protects data stored and/or available through the device should it become lost, stolen, or otherwise fall into the wrong hands. However, this lockout feature can inconvenience the user in making phone calls at it requires entry of the security code. The timed lockout can be selectively imposed over a wireless connection by a supervisor or it can be set in the device and protected by a higher level password.